Louis Terrell Jones, a 42-year-old resident of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, has pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a machinegun. The announcement was made by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin stated: “Our brave law enforcement officers are increasingly encountering and seizing firearms that have been illegally modified to fire as fully automatic machineguns. My office remains fully committed to fulfilling the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America by targeting these violent criminals with the full force of the law.”
The charges stem from an incident in November 2024 when a deputy from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office conducted a routine traffic stop on Jones’s vehicle. During the search, authorities discovered a Glock 9 millimeter pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device. Jones is legally barred from owning firearms due to prior felony convictions that include attempted burglary, possession of a weapon on school property, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and aggravated assault by threat with a firearm.
If convicted on all counts, Jones could face up to twenty-five years in prison, three years of supervised release following incarceration, and fines up to $250,000.
The investigation was carried out jointly by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Tharp is prosecuting the case.
Sentencing is set for November 6, 2025 at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), an initiative designed to coordinate Department of Justice resources against illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime through efforts like OCDETFs and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida serves as one of 94 offices representing federal interests across the country under direction from the Attorney General. More information about this office can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
